The petition, expected to be heard by Acting Chief Justice R. Mahadevan and Justice Mohammed Shaffiq, was filed by Advocate B. Ramkumar Adityan of Thoothukudi.
CHENNAI: Today (2nd July): A Public Interest Litigation (PIL) petition has been filed in the Madras High Court challenging the constitutional validity of the Hindi and Sanskrit names given to three new laws that replace the Indian Penal Code, the Code of Criminal Procedure, and the Indian Evidence Act, effective from July 1.
The petition, expected to be heard by Acting Chief Justice R. Mahadevan and Justice Mohammed Shaffiq, was filed by Advocate B. Ramkumar Adityan of Thoothukudi.
The petitioner insists that the laws should be renamed in English and seeks an interim injunction against the Union Home Ministry from implementing the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023; the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023; and the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023, until his plea is heard.
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He argues that despite Hindi being the official language in only nine states and two union territories, and spoken as a mother tongue by only 43.63% of the population, the government’s decision to name these critical laws in Hindi and Sanskrit could pose significant challenges for non-Hindi speakers.
He expressed concern that despite only 3.93 lakh people in Tamil Nadu speaking Hindi according to the 2011 census, the Central government opted to name the nation’s three most crucial criminal laws in Hindi and Sanskrit. He argued that this decision would pose significant challenges for non-Hindi speakers across the country.
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Additionally, he contends that English, being the official language of the Supreme Court and most High Courts, ensures efficiency, consistency, and accuracy in legal proceedings. He argues that naming criminal laws in Hindi and Sanskrit could infringe upon the rights of lawyers, law teachers, judicial officers, and litigants.
